SALINAS TO EL HOLDO AND RETURN

Friday 11th December

It was now warming up after a cold wind and lower temperatures.

We did our usual trip via the Salinas, El Pinet and onto both El Hondo and Santa Águada.

I will deal with the latter two first. We expected water in the lagoons around reception. So now with dead carp, very little mud and margins covered with strimmed vegetation our potential spectacle was ruined. Two Dunlin - Correlimos Común and a Common Sandpiper - Andarrios Chico were easily viewed so we exited the boardwalk. The carpark exhibited a posing female Mallard - Ánade Azulón, a gorgeous Greenfinch -  Verderón and a female Stonechat - Tarabilla Común. We left and at Santa Águada work was still continuing on the viewing platforms. Apart from a close-by Bluethroat - Pevchiazul it yielded nothing else.

We concentrated on large fields looking for anything that would make our day. Overall we were not disappointed because we saw loads of birds. Early on a flock of Stone Curlews - Alcaraván Común flew in the distance. And somwhere a Greenshank - Archibebe Claro and a Redshank - Archibebe Común was spotted.

The Salinas just down the hill from the Santa Pola turn off gave us a good number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls - Gaviota Sombría , a distant Kentish Plover - Chorlitejo Patinegro and nothing else out of the ordinary.

The Salt Tower lay-be and The Stones gave us our third Grey Plover -Chorlito Gris of the winter. On the lagoon we counted over 20 Great-Crested Grebe - Somormujo Lavanco and against a distant earth bank a good number of Spoonbill - Espátula Común . Cormorants -Cormorán Grande were flying and assembled on the posts with nothing else of note, except we saw flying and fishing Sandwich Terns - Charrán Patinegro which can be regulars here.

The sea at El Pinet needs an onshore wind and the Salinas gave us a great view of a Spotted Redshank - Archibebe Oscuro very near.

We moved inland and in various fields and places we viewed 21 Lapwings - Avefria Europea, all sitting quietly and for both of us an iconic species. We wanted something else to be with them, but no. Winter gives us flocks and Skylark - Alondra Común flocks were large and we were able to view them when on the ground. Serín - Verdecillo, Linnets- Pardillo Común , Goldfinches - Jilguero were in flocks too, together with Meadow Pipits - Bisbita Común and of course dozens of White Wagtails - Lavandero Blanca. It just pays to check every field and see what is there.

We scanned the skies and saw Marsh Harriers - Aguilucho Luganero and Booted Eagles - Águila Calzado well into double figures for each species. Again we only saw one dark morph Booted.

One flooded field yielded many smaller birds, a couple of Wood Sandpipers - Andarrios Bastardo with many Glossy Ibis - Morito Común. This time of the year it is good to be out there and to see what a change in the weather brings. What we really want is a big dump of rain.

We saw a lot and I have not mentioned all of them. Just another great day with a long list if we wrote them all down.